College roundup: Alex Jackson named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year

Phil Hoffmann / HANDOUT

Navy's Alex Jackson was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year on Monday.

Navy's Alex Jackson was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year on Monday. (Phil Hoffmann / HANDOUT)

NAVY WOMEN’S SOCCER: Coming off a regular season that saw the Mids win 11 games and finish third in the Patriot League standings, the Navy women's soccer team was recognized with five All-Patriot League honors on Monday. Highlighting the accomplished list of award winners was junior Alex Jackson, who was selected as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. Joining Jackson on the All-Patriot League First Team were fellow juniors Cadie Higginson at midfield and Baseley McClaskey on defense.

A pillar on Navy's defense since she debuted in 2016, Jackson elevated her level of play to Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year status this season. On the field in all 19 games for the Mids this season and 1,757 of 1,762 minutes, the Colorado native proved to be an asset on both defense and occasionally offense as Navy allowed just 18 goals for a 0.92 goals against average.

The Mids' starting defensive midfielder, Higginson played a key role in shutting down opposing attackers, while also kickstarting the team's transition offense. Playing in and starting 18 games for Navy in 2018, Higginson tallied three goals and two assists over her 1,586 minutes of action on the field. Higginson was on the field for 832 of a potential 838 minutes in Patriot League competition.

McClaskey, the second-leading scorer in the Patriot League with 23 points, registered seven goals to go along with a league-best nine assists.

The duo of freshman forward Victoria Tran and junior goalkeeper Sydney Fortson were honored with spots on the All-Patriot League Second and Third Teams, respectively.

As the third seed in the 2018 Patriot League Tournament, Navy will be hosting the sixth-seed Army Black Knights on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in one of two Patriot League Quarterfinal games. The winners of the Navy-Army and No. 4 Bucknell-No. 5 Lehigh games will advance to the league semifinals this Friday in Boston, Mass. The semifinals and finals will be hosted by Boston University, the top-seed in the tournament.

NAVY MEN’S SOCCER: For the second-consecutive week, Jacob Williams (Old Mill) was selected as the Patriot League Rookie of the Week, the league office announced on Monday afternoon.

The freshman scored all three of Navy’s goals this week en route to two more Patriot League victories. He becomes the first Midshipmen to earn multiple weekly honors this season.

Williams started the week with a two-goal night at Lafayette to pace Navy to a 2-0 win over the Leopards. He scored both of his goals in the second half to guide the Midshipmen to the road victory. In the 79th minute, Williams scored from the top of the 18-yard box and he then added an insurance goal in the 90th minute after he scored from close range off a run on the end line.

In Navy’s 1-0 victory over Colgate, Williams scored on a penalty kick just 17 minutes into the match. After being tripped up by the Raider goalkeeper inside the penalty area, Williams slotted a low shot to the left side of the goal to propel the Midshipmen to the 1-0 win.

On the season, Williams has the second-most goals in the Patriot League with eight and he ranks third in total points with 16. He has scored Navy’s last four goals and has scored three-straight game-winning goals to lead the Midshipmen on a three-match winning streak. In Patriot League matches, he leads the league with seven goals and 14 points.

Tyler Fahning earned honorable mention weekly accolades this week as he posted his first two career shutouts. He made one save on the week and lowered his goals-against average to 1.54.

With the two victories last week, Navy keeps its postseason hopes alive. The Midshipmen are tied for seventh in the Patriot League standings with Army. Both teams have nine points, but the Black Knights hold the tiebreaker over the Midshipmen. Navy’s next opponent, Bucknell, holds the sixth and final transfer spot into the Patriot League Tournament.

In order to qualify for the Patriot League Tournament, Navy needs Army to lose or tie at home to American on Friday night and then the Midshipmen need to beat Bucknell on the road on Saturday to finish sixth in the standings and earn the final qualifying spot into the league tournament.

Kickoff between Navy and Bucknell has been moved up to 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon from Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium in Lewisburg, Pa.

NAVY FOOTBALL: Raymond Burke “Buddy” Wellborn, a member of the the 1958 team that won the Cotton Bowl, died Oct. 23 in League City, Texas, of complications from an Aortic Aneurism at age 82. Born in Bryan. Texas, Wellborn attended Rice University for a year before entering the Naval Academy in 1955 in the Class of 1959.

MARYLAND FOOTBALL: Sophomore running back and kick returner Javon Leake has been named the Big Ten Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.

Leake rushed for 140 yards on just five carries (28.0 ypc) and scored four touchdowns in Maryland's 63-33 win over Illinois on Saturday. His four total touchdowns are the most for a Maryland player in a game since D.J. Adams also had four in the 2010 Military Bowl.

NAVY OFFSHORE SAILING: Navy’s offshore sailing team had three crews compete in the J/105 Chesapeake Bay Championship this weekend.

The Midshipmen’s final boat was headed by George Hamilton. Hamilton’s crew on Allegiance finished 15th and included Cody Spedero, Phil Smith, Adam Lance Liz Hauschild and Connor Hallett.

Navy is back in action this weekend at the Kennedy Cup in Annapolis.

NAVY INTERCOLLEGIATE SAILING: Navy’s intercollegiate sailing team concluded its fall regular season this past weekend at the MAISA Fall Coed Championship/War Memorial Regatta. The Midshipmen finished third out of 18 teams. Parker Loftus, Brittney Slook, and Sally Johnson finished fourth in the A division, while JC Hermus, Ana Mier and Kent Mathes placed third in the B division.

Navy also had a team sail in the J22 East Coast Championship, hosted by the Severn Sailing Association. The Midshipmen quartet of Jack Carminati, Tyler Fleig, Nicholas Gartner and Fiona Lobon were sixth overall in the field.